Slidin’ Thru: Chris Webby

Chris Webby is here to put Connecticut on the map, which is exactly why he has his home state tattooed across his chest. A true fan of hip-hop, the East Coast spitter prides himself in real bars, lyricism, and hard-hitting production, while staying true to the nerd inside who loves cartoons and gaming. Read more…

It was in 6th grade when real name Christian Webster knew he wanted to rap, knowing damn well that was his calling. Seeing the rap game as a sport, a humble Chris Webby describes the journey as simply “learning as he goes,” sharpening his tools and skills in the stu on the daily.

If you need a place to start, peep “Long Way” on his most recent project, Next Wednesday, which was #1 on the iTunes hip-hop charts for the first 6 days of its release. The lyrics yield a good indication of his place in the rap game.

For those who don’t know, who is Chris Webby?A rapper out of Connecticut. A practiced young veteran in the independent hip-hop circuit who’s been doing this yet for quite some time. This April actually marks the 10-year anniversary since my first official mixtape on Datpiff.

Shout out to the mixtape days.Oh yeah, that was the best. It was crazy. We produced some great music, at such a rapid fire pace. Ten years, it’s been a journey.

Where do you fit in the realm of hip-hop and R&B?I’ve carved my own thing out. It’s a little more niche than a lot of these bigger artists but it’s turned into nice thing. Touring is really what shows that. You get to see all these people singing your lyrics all over the country, it’s a pretty crazy concept. I did Edmonton on New Years Eve with Merkules, a really dope rapper out of Canada. The show was crazy. Now, I’m about to do a whole Canadian run.

How important is it to come to LA as an up and coming artist?There’s just certain things that exist here that aren’t in other places. If you’re putting music out, you’ve gotta visit the land of LA somewhere in the process. But I like being where I’m from. A lot of people come out here because this is an incredible, creative atmosphere, but there really isn’t much in Connecticut that’s been built yet. I kind of want to create a scene there. LA is great, the weed is incredible. I’m literally so high right now.

What would you be doing if you weren’t doing music?I have no idea. I used to work at Leslie’s Pool Supplies. They sell pool products. I had to test people’s pH level of their pool water. I would have to do math to figure out what they needed, it was horrible. I don’t have too many other skill sets, but one day, I want to save the environment. We have to change a lot of the ways we do things. ‘Cause we’re fucking the planet up so dramatically, it’s insane. There’s a lot of little things we can do to make it a little better.

You released Next Wednesday at the end of last year. Talk about the creative process and how long it took you.I created and released a lot of it throughout the year. It’s a continuous process. These are the months where I lock into the studio, because it’s cold where I’m from. It sucks. You don’t want to be outside. It’s good to lock in, get creative and weird. Think of all sorts of beats and raps. It’s the best part of the job.

Off the bat, “Long Way” has you declaring your place in the rap game. You’re literally saying “I can rap, fuck with me.”It’s true. I’m very confident in my skill set. At the end of the day, this is a sport. You got to play it as such. Rappers are like WWE characters. You gotta just embrace your character and have a good time doing it. You got to stay in love with the music. You can’t let all this craziness that goes on in this business distract you from the original mission, because that’s having people bump your music. Beyond the money, beyond everything else, the goal is to have people turn your shit on when they’re driving somewhere — with 3 people in the car and everybody bumpin’.

What is your creative process?I do it on the phone now, just because that’s where the beats are. I used to always have the notepad. It bums me out that I don’t have that anymore. I usually write when I’m in my car. I pull up to the beach and my car’s like my office. Bump beats on the coast.

Who’s the most played artist on your phone right now?I was really bumping that Wayne album this year, that shit was fire. Because that was the Wayne era when I was in high school. If you’re in the 30-ish range, Wayne was [everything]. But as of late, it’s been a lot of beats.

What’s your favorite Carter?Carter II. Carter III was good, but I liked the Carter 3 that leaked. That had some fire on it, but they had samples. I think that’s where they ran into trouble.

What’s a normal day in the life? Walk us through.I live two different lives entirely, to be honest. When I’m home, it’s very tame. I’m usually focused on writing, trying to get the body and mind right for the next time I have to go on some sort of endeavor. I always try to be collecting myself while I’m there. A lot of Netflix, video gaming. Seeing family is important to me too. Then there’s the road, which is the exact opposite. I try to find balance because the road is so insane that if you continue to live like you do on the road for the rest of your life, that’s not healthy at all. But it’s also super fun. Getting to perform your own shit is a super dope concept.

Favorite song to perform in a set?I love performing “So Easy” from 2014’d Chemically Imbalanced, which I’ve been doing for years. It’s right in the beginning of the set, and always gets me fired up and in the mood. “World Wide Web” has been going hard, because I always perform with drums. When I’m home in Connecticut, I had bass, double keyboards, drums, DJ, my dad on guitar — that shit is wild. You feel like you have a jetpack on. It’s insane.

What’s the best encounter you had with a fan?I have a lot of fans that’ve told me really personal shit. The fact that I’ve been able to affect them. Personal stories too, so it’s not just like you want to just repeat it. It’s a lot of things like “damn, I really influenced this person’s life in a major way.” That concept still blows my mind. Even though you’re doing it all the time — meet & greets, meeting people — it’s just a very constant process. But sometimes, you sit back and think “that’s wild.”

Dream collab?I was just thinking earlier that a hook from Janis Joplin would be incredible. Alive, I want to do some crossover type shit.

What are some goals yourself as an artist at this point of your career?Really just continuing to grow. I’ve been focused on continuing to streamline the business element of it, while at the same time finding time to be creative and step away from all of that entirely. Just vibe out and learn how to balance all of these things, because I’m getting better at it and I want to continue to get better at it.

How important is social media for your career?It’s important but at the end of the day, the music is the ultimate tool. Social networks, yeah everyone has to have it. I’m not a big fan of the concept, but I get it. For me, it’s more about the music.

What can we expect from you music wise?A lot more coming this year. I’m just going to lock in the studio for a couple months, create and start dropping again. Rapid fire.